Abrar Hussain: Indonesia was once again been struck by a massive earthquake yesterday. According to the US Geological Survey, both tremors struck off the coast of West Timor, about 100km (62 miles) southeast of Kupang, in the East Nusa Tenggara province.

The quake struck at a depth of 6.2 miles (10km) and as of writing this report of Tuesday, no tsunami warning has yet been issued and neither have there been any immediate reports of damage or casualties.

Experts at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) issued the earthquake alert at about 8.15am BST (2:15pm local time).

Barely 5 minutes later, another massive 5.6 magnitude earthquake hit the same area.

According to several media reports, the tremors were felt in various Indonesian islands and even on the coast of northern Australia.

Both earthquakes were preceded by a smaller 4.7 magnitude quake on the north of the island just hours before.

Indonesia is a highly seismically active region, and is part of the volatile region on the edge of the pacific known as the Ring of Fire.

The fresh quakes come after the big 5.7 magnitude earthquake that had hit the Lombok region of the island nation last week, 60 miles southeast of Kupang, capital of the province of East Nusa Tenggara.

Earlier this month, Lombok island was hit by a 7.0 magnitude quake which killed as many as 436 people.

The USGS assessment of Indonesia’s earthquake risk reads: “The population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist,” adding, “The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick with concrete floor and precast concrete frame with wall construction. Recent earthquakes in this area have caused secondary hazards such as landslides that might have contributed to losses.”
-Source: Express UK